an angel at my table

This is my favorite time of the year.Everybody is happy. My youngest sun loves his advents kalander. I love to see how happy he gets when he opens his small christmas gifts. To eat candy everyday until christmas he can't bealive his luck.

I know this cake doesn't look to sexy but it tastes divine. One of my favorite combo saffron and orange makes this cake stands out. The ricotta gives it the moist and the almond flour that dense marzipan texture I love. If you have been following me for a while you realize that I have almond meal in everything. I know I must stop but I can't help myself and no one is stopping me so until I had enough I will continue this almond madness. Here you have almond both in the cake and the topping. I have added a yummy topping of a Swedish specialty Tosca - Caramel almond to top this cake of into the ultimate cake heaven!

Flour less ricotta and orange cake with caramel almond topping

For the Cake:

1/2 g of saffron

1 cup caster sugar

3 eggs

100 g melted butter

250 g ricotta

1 1/2 cup almond meal

3 tbsp cornstarch

2 teaspoons bakingpowder

pinch of salt

1 whole orange peel and the juice

For the Topping:

100g melted unsalted butter

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons milk

50 g flaked almonds

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pre set the oven to 200C. Mix 1 tablespoon of the sugar with the saffron in a mortar and mix it well. Add the rest of the sugar to the saffron mix in a larger bowl and add the eggs one by one. Whisk until light and fluffy.

2. Stir in the cooled and melted butter and the ricotta cheese. Mix well.

3.Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl without the flaked almonds and the powdered sugar. Gently turn this in with the egg-mix and add the orange peel and juice.

4. Pour the batter in a well greased baking pan. Bake for 35 minutes.

5. For the almond caramel topping add all the ingredients in a sauce pan and stir until it thickens. Take off heat.

Sometimes you just want simple with a twist of gorgeous.. Then this is the recipe for you. My affection with this cake seriously knows no bounds. Largely due to the best chocolate glaze in existence. Glaze doesn’t do this ganache any justice.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE:

¾cup/170 grams unsalted butter softened

2 ½cups/300 grams cake flour

1 ½teaspoons baking powder

½teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon, divided

½teaspoon salt

1 ⅔cups/334 grams plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1cup, plus 2 tablespoons/270 milliliters buttermilk

1teaspoon vanilla extract

3eggs, lightly beaten

1ounce/28 grams unsweetened chocolate

For the chocolate ganache glaze:

1 cup heavy cream

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into pieces

pinch of salt

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch tube pan with butter and dust with flour.

Make the cake: In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, the salt and 1 2/3 cups sugar.

Put the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until well blended; do not beat. Combine the buttermilk and vanilla and stir into the flour mixture, until just blended. Add the eggs and mix until just incorporated. Set aside.

Melt 1 ounce chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pot filled with a few inches of simmering water. Remove from the heat and add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1 tablespoon sugar and 2 tablespoons very hot water. Whisk together until just blended. Fold 1/4 of the batter (about 1 cup) into the chocolate mixture, to create chocolate batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan, alternating the yellow and chocolate batters (two layers of each, beginning with the vanilla batter and ending with the chocolate batter), then run a knife through the batter to marble it. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes. Start checking the cake after about 35 minutes; the cake should be a little soft in the middle, just barely bouncing back when touched. Remove from oven and let cool 30 minutes. Place the cake onto a platter.

Once cake is cooled, prepare the chocolate glaze. Place chopped chocolate into a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring heavy cream to a boil. Pour over the chocolate and add a pinch of salt. Do not stir for 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes have elapsed, whisk mixture until smooth and creamy. Let stand for 5 minutes before pouring over the cake. Slowly cover cake with ganache and let stand for 10 minutes. The ganache will harden as it sets on the cake.

This cake is pure heaven! I know I say that about everything I show you here on the blog but this is truly the best piece of cake I have tasted in a long while. I also admit that there are a few steps to go through before you can take a bite into this pure delight. But it is so worth your while and I will help you through every step. For this recipe I also made home made pumpkin puree. Very easy nothing to worry about and it taste so much better that something that comes out of a jar. I even doubt that we have caned pumpkin here in Sweden like many other countries has. We haven't yet been bitten by the pumpkin crazy. I don't know why because pumpkin is now one of my favorite food. But I first realized that when I lived in Australia. I roast it to go with my lamb or puree it to have in my cakes. I always use butternut which is my favorite.

How I made home made pumpkin puree:

Trim off the stem, then cut the pumpkin in half through the top.Remove all the seeds and stringiness from the center of each pumpkin half. Place the pumpkin halves cut-side down on a sheet tray. Placing them cut-side down keeps the pumpkin moist without needing to add oil.Roast for about 45 minutes, until the skin is dark and puckered. Flip the pumpkin halves over. The pumpkin should be very soft. Scoop all the pumpkin out of the skin with a spoon when it has cooled enough to be handled , then transfer to a food processor. Puree for about 30 seconds until completely smooth. Now the pumpkin puree is ready to use!

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until light and frothy. Beat in the oil. Add the flour mixture in two additions, until just incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Stir in the pumpkin (See my recipe above) and ground almonds.

Pour the batter into a springform pan and place in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes then lower the temperature to 150° C/ 325°F and bake for another 20 min, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.

When the cake is baked, remove from oven. Let it sit until cooled completely. Remove from baking pan. Invert onto your wire rack or serving plate. Wrap the cake well and refrigerate until ready to frost. This can be done a day or two in advance.

Make the frosting by whipping together all the ingredients in a small bowl. Make sure not to overbeat.

Peel pears and cut a thin slice off the bottom of the pears so they can stand upright, keep stalks attached. Place sugar, wine, water, lemon juice and peel, anise and cinnamon sticks in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil, over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to low simmer for 5 min. Add pears and gently simmer for 20 min turn them occasionally so that all of the pear get covered by the liquid.

Frost the cake, put the pears on top and drizzel the cooled poaching liquid over the whole cake. Dust with extra cinnamon.

Today I wanted something easy but yet delicious. My first encounter with these beauties was when we use to live in Australia. They were everywhere.They are a classic cookie in the anglo saxon part of the world. I was easily swayed and need no introduction. It was love at first sight. These cookies are the most crumbly, buttery, and delicious cookies ever. So easy to make so there is no reason not to try this for your afternoon tea today. I found my recipe here.

INGREDIENTS

125g butter, softened

3/4 cup (115g) plain flour

1/4 cup (45g) icing sugar mixture

1/3 cup (50g) custard powder

60g butter, softened, extra

2/3 cup (110g) icing sugar mixture, extra

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind

1 tablespoon lemon juice

How to

1

Preheat oven to 160°C. Line 2 oven trays with baking paper. Use an electric mixer to beat butter until pale and creamy. Add the flour, icing sugar and custard powder and use a wooden spoon to stir to combine.

2

Use your hands to roll teaspoonful of the dough mixture into balls. Place the balls 3cm apart on the lined trays. Use a fork dusted in icing sugar to gently flatten. Bake in preheated oven, swapping trays halfway through cooking, for 15 minutes or until just cooked through. Remove from oven and set aside for 30 minutes to cool.

3

Use an electric mixer to beat the extra butter and icing sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the lemon rind and juice and beat until combined. Spread the butter mixture over the flat side of half the biscuits and sandwich together with remaining biscuits.

Step 3: Pour the melted butter for the topping over the flour mixture.

Step 4: Using a spoon, combine the melted butter with the flour mixture until crumbles form.

Step 5: Place ramekins on a baking sheet and evenly distribute the mixed berries and pear into the four (4 inch) ramekins.

Step 6: Evenly distribute the prepared crumble over the top of each ramekin. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tops are golden. Allow the crumbles to cool slightly before serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I have to confess that I always thought that making donuts would be way beyond my horizon but oh was I wrong. When I stumbled over this recipe I thought that I would give it a go because it sounded so easy and belive me if I can make these so can you. They turned out beautiful and the kids loved them. The only problem now is that they want me to do donuts everyday!

Donut Holes- Fried, No Yeast

Ingredients

Vegetable oil or canola oilfor frying

2cupsall-purpose flour

3Tbspsugar

1Tbspbaking powder

1tspsalt

5Tbspbuttercold

3/4cupsmilk

For rolling

1/3cupgranulated sugar

1 1/2tspground cinnamon

Instructions

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix.

Using a pastry cutter cut butter into your flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Add milk and mix until all ingredients are combined.

Transfer
dough onto a well-floured surface, and knead gently until it forms a
cohesive ball. If dough is too sticky to manage, continue to work in
flour until it is smooth and manageable.

Break off approximately 1 1/2 Tbsp-sized pieces of dough and roll into smooth, tight balls. Set aside.

Fill
a medium-sized saucepan 2-inches deep with your oil over medium-high
heat. Use a candy thermometer (make sure it isn't touching the bottom of
the pot) to monitor your temperature.

Heat
oil to 177 C (you will have to monitor the heat pretty regularly and may
need to increase/decrease your stove temperature to keep it
consistent).

While your oil is heating, prepare your cinnamon/sugar mix by stirring together cinnamon and sugar in a small dish. Set aside.

Prepare two plates for your cooked donut holes by lining them generously with paper towels.

Once
oil has reached 177 C, very carefully fry your donut holes, about 4 at a
time, carefully lower them into the oil with a slotted spoon
to avoid the oil to splash.

First fry only one donut hole and check how thoroughly it is cooked. After 3.5 minutes has
passed, cut into it to check whether it is underdone, just right, or
overdone, and then fry the rest of your donut holes accordingly. Fry
donut holes for approximately 3.5 minutes, remove carefully with a
slotted spoon, and place them on a paper towel laden plate. Allow them
to sit for about 30 seconds and then use another spoon to transfer them
to your cinnamon/sugar dish, roll them in the topping until fully
covered, and then transfer to your other paper towel lined plate.

Repeat until all donut holes are cooked and have been rolled in cinnamon sugar.